Australian holidays 2023, 2024, 2025 (all states and territories)

This post is about the following topic: Australian holidays 2023, 2024 and 2025. In it we provide the exact dates of holidays. We will also indicate which states, territories or areas celebrate the holiday. Let us briefly describe the features of the Australian holiday calendar.

Table of Contents

How do Australian holidays differ from other countries?

Australia is divided into 8 main administrative divisions. Each of them has its own special holidays, but there are also common ones for the whole country. There are 7 such public holidays in Australia:

New Year.
Australia Day.
Good Friday.
Easter Monday.
Anzac Day.
Christmas.
Boxing Day.

A distinctive feature of Australian public holidays is that they are not tied to a specific date. Most holidays and memorials are celebrated on a specific day of the week. For example, Western Australia Day is celebrated on the first Monday in June, and Labor Day in Victoria is celebrated on the second Monday in March.

This is very convenient from the point of view of ordinary residents. The holiday almost always falls on a Monday and Australians have three full days off. There are no situations when you need to work for 1-2 days after the weekend, and then rest for another day. Many holidays take place during the Australian school holidays, so the educational process is practically uninterrupted.

How are Australian holidays handled?

As in most countries, Saturday and Sunday are official public holidays in Australia. Accordingly, if a holiday falls on them, it may be moved. But this does not apply to all public holidays or in all states and territories. In Australia, four holidays are postponed to the next working day:

New Year.
Australia Day.
Christmas.
Boxing Day/Proclamation Day (celebrated on the same day).

In addition to them, the following holidays may be shifted or postponed in different territories and states:

Easter Monday may be moved in Western Australia if it coincides with Anzac Day or a rescheduled Anzac Day. For example, if Anzac Day falls on Easter Sunday, it is moved to Monday. And Easter Monday, in turn, is moved to Tuesday. In the rest of Australia, holidays are combined.
If Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it moves to Monday in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. In the Australian Capital Territory it only shifts if it falls on a Sunday.
New Year’s Eve is only postponed in South Australia if it falls on a Sunday.

Australian holidays 2023

January

January 1 (Sunday) 2023: New Year.
26 January (Thursday) 2023: Australia Day.

February

13 February (Monday) 2023: Royal Hobart Regatta (Hobart area in Tasmania).

The Royal Hobart Regatta is an annual event held on the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania since 1838. It takes place over three days and includes sailing and rowing races. A highlight is the sailboat race, which features majestic, historic sailing vessels.

March

6 March (Monday) 2023: Labor Day (Western Australia).
13 March (Monday) 2023: Canberra Day (Australian Capital Territory).
13 March (Monday) 2023: Adelaide Cup (South Australia).
13 March (Monday) 2023: Eight-hour day (Tasmania).
13 March (Monday) 2023: Labor Day (Victoria).

The Adelaide Cup is a prestigious annual thoroughbred horse race held at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia. It was first held in 1864 during the Adelaide Arts Festival. The Adelaide Cup has a prize fund of over $400,000 and the winner receives an automatic entry into the Melbourne Cup. Race Day attracts more than 30,000 spectators annually

April

April 7 (Friday) 2023: Good Friday.
8 April (Saturday) 2023: Easter Saturday/Holy Saturday (all except Tasmania and Western Australia).
9 April (Sunday) 2023: Easter Sunday (all except Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania).
April 10 (Monday) 2023: Easter Monday.
11 April (Tuesday) 2023: Easter Tuesday, for employees of public services or if specified in the contract of employment (Tasmania).
25 April (Tuesday) 2023: Anzac Day.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, held annually on 25 April. It honors the memory of those who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The day was originally established to honor members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during the First World War.

May

1 May (Monday) 2023: First of May (Northern Territory).
1 May (Monday) 2023: Labor Day (Queensland).
29 May (Monday) 2023: Reconciliation Day (Australian Capital Territory).

Reconciliation Day is celebrated annually in the Australian Capital Territory to recognize and celebrate the culture and history of the country’s Indigenous peoples. Also known as National Sorry Day, it marks the anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report into Parliament on the Stolen Generations.

June

5 June (Monday) 2023: Western Australia Day (Western Australia).
12 June (Monday) 2023: King’s Birthday (all except Queensland and Western Australia).

August

7 August (Monday) 2023: Picnic Day (Northern Territory).
16 August (Wednesday) 2023: Royal National Agricultural Show Day, Ecca (Brisbane, Queensland only).

The Royal Queensland Show , colloquially known as Ecca, is an annual agricultural exhibition held in Brisbane, Queensland. It has a long history, dating back to 1876. Although the first official Royal Queensland Exhibition was held in 1922 after King George V granted it royal patronage. Now this event is attended by about 400,000 people.

September

25 September (Monday) 2023: King’s Birthday (Western Australia).
29 September (Friday) 2023: Friday before the Australian Football League grand final (Victoria).

October

2 October (Monday) 2023: Labor Day (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia).
2 October (Monday) 2023: King’s Birthday (Queensland).

November

6 November (Monday) 2023: Rest Day (outside Hobart, Tasmania area).
7 November (Tuesday) 2023: Melbourne Cup (Victoria).

The Melbourne Cup is the most prestigious annual thoroughbred horse race in Australia. It is held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne and attracts over 100,000 people. It has been called “the race that stops the nation.” It took place for the first time in 1861. The Melbourne Cup has a prize fund of $7.75 million.

December

24 December (Sunday) 2023: Christmas Eve, reduced hours (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, for some occupations in New South Wales).
December 25 (Monday) 2023: Christmas.
December 26 (Tuesday) 2023: Boxing Day.
26 December (Tuesday) 2023: Proclamation Day (South Australia).
31 December (Sunday) 2023: New Year’s Eve, reduced hours (Northern Territory, South Australia).

Australian holidays 2024